


Mātātū

by BoxOnTheNile



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ghost Hunters, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, F/M, M/M, Maori Legends, My Mako is always Māori
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-08
Updated: 2017-01-08
Packaged: 2018-09-15 15:40:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9242264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BoxOnTheNile/pseuds/BoxOnTheNile
Summary: Mātātū (Māori): roughly translated, the rising of the tide.Three years ago, Mako Rutledge lost his wife. The police said it was a shark.He's not so sure anymore.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NoirSongbird](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoirSongbird/gifts).



> NoirSongbird gave me permission to dabble in their ghost hunter au, Overwatch Paranormal Investigations, Inc. The first story, Unclean Spirit, is up, and I highly recommend you check it out.
> 
> They mentioned the company had three teams, and that Junkrat was the medium for team 3. I started screeching, and this was born.
> 
> A few notes before we start. One, I am not Māori. I did a lot of research, but I'm not infallible. If you see an issue anywhere, please let me know so I can fix it.
> 
> Two, taniwha is pronounced "ta-ni-fa". It'll make sense later.

Mako really had no good reason to sail off the coast of Orepuki, had every reason to hate it, but he liked the water, the peace, the sound of the waves as they rocked his little boat. 

 

He was just turning back to the shore when a dark shape passed under his boat. Normally, this wouldn’t concern him, but it seemed longer than the local sharks, and whales didn’t normally come so close to shore during the low tide. He leaned over, peering down at the water, whispering a soft “What are you?”

 

The shape twisted suddenly, surged up, and his boat capsized. 

 

Mako’s breath tried to rush out in shock, but he held it as he oriented himself in the water. He kicked toward the surface and the shadow of his boat. He broke the surface, inhaled, and the current pulled him back under.

 

This was wrong. The water was calm here, especially with the low tide. The dark shape from before slid into Mako’s peripheral, and he struggled to turn.

 

The scaled flesh was mottled orange and yellow, the fins on the sides of its face edging towards red. _Taniwha,_ he thought, remembering the old stories his grandmother would tell him, of the ancient Māori protectors.

 

Or monsters.

 

The Taniwha bared its teeth and lunged. Mako kicked up, feeling his bare feet skim the top of the monster. He felt it twist.

 

He wouldn't survive this. He might reach the surface again, but he'd never make the shore before the Taniwha caught him. He was going to die here. 

 

The fight drained out of him. The water shifted around him as the Taniwha lunged again. 

 

A flicker of light rushed past and the monster screamed. _Don't you dare give up and join me now, Mako Rutledge._

 

Mako gasped, filled his lungs with water, and drifted.  
\--

 

He was released from the hospital two days later. The doctor's wanted him on a ventilator for a while- filling asthmatic lungs with sea water wasn't the best idea- but after twenty-four hours with no sign of pneumonia, they let him go. 

 

He went straight to the local cemetery. The Rutledge family plot was small, but he could have found the grave he wanted blindfolded. 

 

**Tahia Rutledge**  
**Wife and Daughter**

 

Mako sat on the grass before the headstone, tracing the patterns engraved on it. Police had called it a shark attack. With no other way to explain the state of her body, Mako had agreed, though something felt off. The sharks in the bay were timid creatures, and Tahia had always watched to make sure “all her Makos were fed”.

 

“It wasn’t a shark,” Mako said after long minutes, his voice still raspy from salt damage. “I heard your voice, Tahia. It wasn’t a shark, was it?”

 

“She's sayin’ its name is Kaea.” 

 

Mako twisted sharply, wincing as the motion pulled on still sore muscles. The man behind him was tall- not as tall as Mako himself, but, still- with ashy blonde hair and sharp features. He was pale, a stark contrast to Mako’s darker skin, with what looked to be a _papahu_ pendant around neck. It took conscious effort not to reach for the matching dolphin Mako wore- a Māori symbol of safety and protection. It had belonged to Tahia. He wondered idly where the man got his.

 

“What?”

 

The man gestured to the headstone. “Her. Ta-hee-uh.”

 

“Tahia. Like tay-ah.” Mako corrected automatically. He'd heard Tahia correct so many people. “Wait, what do you mean, _she's_ saying it?”

 

“Oh.” The man shifted awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. “I'm a, what's it called, a medium? Talking to ghosts and shit. Tahia,” he pronounced it correctly this time, “is tellin’ ya ‘it's called Kaea.’ That mean somethin’ to you?”

 

Three days ago, Mako would have laughed himself sick over this man calling himself a medium, or hit him for daring come near his wife's grave. But three days ago, a Taniwha was part of the stories his grandmother used to tell him, not a monster in the bay behind his home.

 

The man sat next to Mako, hesitant. “There's been a lot of deaths by sharks in this area, and more in the last few years. The trend didn't start with Mrs. Rutledge here, but I've been going down the list, trying to see if any a’ the victims know what killed ‘em.”

 

“A Taniwha.” Mako swallowed; the word had been bitter on his tongue. 

 

“Tanny-fa?”

 

Close enough. Mako wasn't here to teach a white boy to speak his grandmother's language. “A Māori monster.”

 

“Ah, fuck.” He tipped back onto the grass. “I'm Jamison Fawkes, from Overwatch Paranormal Investigations.”

 

Mako stared at him. “The ghost hunters?” A couple of his nieces watched OPI, Inc online. 

 

“That's us! My team n’ me heard about the weird shit going on and thought we'd check it out.” He sighed. “Monsters are a little above our pay grade, though. Sounds like something McCree’s or Fareeha’s team would handle better.” 

 

Mako watched Fawkes for a moment. “What would they do?”

 

“First step is usually try and relocate it if it's docile, but this ‘tan-far’ -” that had to be on purpose- “has already been killin’ people for about four years, at least. At least, that's when it got sloppy.

 

The time felt important, for some reason, but Mako pushed it away. “So?”

 

“So we have to kill it before it hurts anyone else. We gotta find it first, though, and that's gonna take time.”

 

“I know where it is.”

 

“What?!”

 

Mako nodded slowly. “It attacked me two days ago. I don't know how I survived.”

 

Fawkes shot to his feet. “Right! Now we just have to figure out how to kill one and…” He trailed off. “I don't know if any of us can kill it. We're the public face; we deal with things like minor hauntings. A monster…”

 

“I'll do it.” There was no hesitation in Mako’s voice. He was certain this Taniwha, Kaea, was the reason his wife was dead, and he was going to do something about it.

 

Fawkes grinned and held out a hand to help pull Mako to his feet. His sharp cheekbones flushed when he noticed Mako was taller than him. “Well then, welcome to the team, Mister...”

 

“Rutledge. Mako Rutledge.”


End file.
